Gym Leader Lt. Surge/RBY
Overview Lt. Surge is the Gym Leader of the Vermillion Gym. He uses Electric types. In Pokemon Red and Blue, his team is composed of Voltorb, Pikachu and Raichu. Voltorb is level 21 and knows Tackle, Screech and SonicBoom, Pikachu is level 18 and knows ThunderShock, Growl, Thunder Wave and Quick Attack, while Raichu is level 24 and knows ThunderShock, Growl and Thunderbolt. In Yellow, he has a level 28 Raichu that knows Thunderbolt, Mega Punch, Mega Kick and Growl. Upon being defeated, Surge hands out the Thunder Badge, TM24 Thunderbolt and 2376 (Red and Blue)/2772 (Yellow) Poké Dollars. Tips for beating Surge *'Know your enemy:' Voltorb and Pikachu are easily dispatched, but Raichu is something else: 90 Base Special and 100 Base Speed, coupled with STAB Thunderbolt are nothing to laugh at. Bring a couple of Paralyz heals if you lack a Ground type as well. *'Voltorb and Pikachu can be more annoying than dangerous (Red and Blue only):' Those two have a few aces up their sleeves. While Voltorb can spam the annoying SonicBoom (20 Hp of fixed damage) and lower your defenses with Screech (after a couple of those, Tackle inflicts decent damage), Pikachu has the crippling Thunder Wave, the ability to outspeed thanks to Quick Attack (so be careful if you took one or two Screeches and haven't switched out) and Growl to lower your Attack. *'One 'mon Army (Yellow Only):' Raichu is a powerful foe, whose mixed moveset can dent quite the number of opponents (Thunderbolt is 95 BP 'and' STAB, Megapunch is 80 BP, while Mega Kick is 120), so don't be afraid to use a couple of Super Potions, they might save your Pokemon from certain doom. *'Powder moves are useful for support:' it is likely you'll have acquired a Pokemon capable to learn status inducing powder moves: Stun Spore will cripple the opponents' speed, with every turn a 30% chance of paralysis to kick in and leave them unable to attack; Sleep Powder allows you to attack safely (since it's Generation 1, waking up will waste a turn as well); Poison Powder is useful for residual damage and, if you have the resources and the bulk, perfect for stalling. *'Use a Grass type, they resist Electric type moves:' If you haven't chosen Bulbasaur or missed Paras on Mt. Moon, there are Oddish and Bellsprout available on Routes 24, 25, 5, 6 and 11. *'Use a Ground type, they are immune to Electric type moves:' Ground types, even without STAB moves in their movesets, excel in this battle, by rendering useless Surge's Pokemon best moves and offensive stat. *'You can teach Dig to your Pokemon:' Being a Ground type move and also a powerful one (100 Base Power in Generation 1 games), Dig can be taught to most Pokemon available at this point of the game, making short work of the foes. *'Physical attacks are also an option:' Even if you lack Dig, physical attacks like Mega Punch or Body Slam will also do nice, since the Electric Pokemon used by the Leader have low physical bulk. Good Pokémon to Use *'Ivysaur': Thanks to typing and access to Leech Seed/Poison Powder combo, Ivysaur is the most eligible Pokemon to stall the entire enemy team. *'Gloom' and Weepinbell: Again, thanks to typing, access to powder moves and self healing (Gloom's Absorb)/Special buffing or stalling (Weepinbell's Growth/Wrap), these two will do good work. Be careful of Yellow's Raichu, since Mega Punch/Kick won't be resisted. *'Kadabra': STAB Confusion, high Special and Speed make this Pokemon a perfect sweeper, capable of tanking Raichu's Thunderbolts. Keep in mind that in Yellow, your paper-thin Defense won't help much against Raichu's physical moves. *'Parasect': 80 Base Special and typing, together with Stun Spore, can make Parasect another good choice for this gym. It can also learn Dig by TM, allowing it to dish out great damage thanks to its Base 95 Attack. Watch out for crits though. *'Clefable/Wigglytuff': Bulky Pokemon with access to Sing (and Disable as well in Wigglytuff's case) to cripple the opponent, and capable of high damage via Body Slam/Mega Punch's TM. *'Geodude/Graveler': This Pokemon here is the perfect counter to Surge. Nothing will stop it, even if it lacks Dig, thanks to the Ground typing rendering Thunderbolt ineffective and physical attacks made nothing but small scratches by its Rock typing and physical Defense stat. *'Dugtrio': Being a certain catch in the nearby Diglett Cave, Dugtrio is a fast, but also frail, sweeper. You can OHKO everything with Dig, but you don't want to be hit by Yellow's Raichu's Normal moves. *'Hypno (Yellow only)': Decent physical bulk and a 115 Base Special, plus access to Disable, Hypnosis, STAB Confusion/Dream Eater allow it to tank Raichu's attacks and retaliate with little to worry about. If overlevelling is allowed, it's also a fine choice in Red and Blue. *'Sandslash': Another counter to this Gym, thanks to typing and high Defense, whose sweeping is guaranteed thanks to a 100% crit rate Slash. *'Nidoking/Nidoqueen': Typing, high balanced stats and access to Thrash/Body Slam/Mega Punch make them another couple of Pokemon who can battle to the victory with little to worry about. Category:Kanto Category:Gym Leaders Category:Boss Fights Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Bosses with Completed Analyses